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Concept
Differential algebra
Summary
In mathematics, differential algebra is, broadly speaking, the area of mathematics consisting in the study of differential equations and differential operators as algebraic objects in view of deriving properties of differential equations and operators without computing the solutions, similarly as polynomial algebras are used for the study of algebraic varieties, which are solution sets of systems of polynomial equations. Weyl algebras and Lie algebras may be considered as belonging to differential algebra.
More specifically, differential algebra refers to the theory introduced by Joseph Ritt in 1950, in which differential rings, differential fields, and differential algebras are rings, fields, and algebras equipped with finitely many derivations.
A natural example of a differential field is the field of rational functions in one variable over the complex numbers, where the derivation is differentiation with respect to More generally, every differential equation may be viewed as an element of a differential algebra over the differential field generated by the (known) functions appearing in the equation.
Joseph Ritt developed differential algebra because he viewed attempts to reduce systems of differential equations to various canonical forms as an unsatisfactory approach. However, the success of algebraic elimination methods and algebraic manifold theory motivated Ritt to consider a similar approach for differential equations. His efforts led to an initial paper Manifolds Of Functions Defined By Systems Of Algebraic Differential Equations and 2 books, Differential Equations From The Algebraic Standpoint and Differential Algebra. Ellis Kolchin, Ritt's student, advanced this field and published Differential Algebra And Algebraic Groups.
A derivation on a ring is a function
such that
and
(Leibniz product rule),
for every and in
A derivation is linear over the integers since these identities imply and
A differential ring is a commutative ring equipped with one or more derivations that commute pairwise; that is, for every pair of derivations and every When there is only one derivation one talks often of an ordinary differential ring; otherwise, one talks of a partial differential ring.
Official source
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